Chatverock Takes itself way too seriously

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

namashi_1 A look at the 1990 trial of Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center director Dennis Barrie, who was accused of promoting pornography, 'Dirty Pictures' turns into An Interesting Watch! Also, The Always-Amazing James Woods delivers a yet another Excellent Performance! 'Dirty Pictures' Synopsis: A Cincinnati museum director goes on trial in 1990 for exhibiting sadomasochistic photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe.'Dirty Pictures' may be not be flawless, but it sure is engaging & grasping. It talks about exploitation, freedom, sadomasochism & power. Ilene Chaiken's Screenplay is engaging & thought provoking. Frank Pierson's Direction is effective. Cinematography, Editing & Art Design, are fine.Performance-Wise: As mentioned, Woods gives a yet another Excellent Performance! As Dennis Barrie, The Two-Time Academy-Award-Nominated Veteran Actor delivers a performance, that's so accurate & detailed, its hard to point out any flaws whatsoever! Diana Scarwid is competent. Craig T. Nelson does a fair job. Others fill the bill.On the whole, 'Dirty Pictures' is worth a watch.

lambiepie-2 When I was little, CBS, NBC and ABC had the corner on "Made for TV films" which were shown weekly, monthly, twice a year, etc. Many of them dove and dealt with current events and showed cautionary tales. As a result, some of them were very good for the small budgets they had. But somewhere along the line, Standards and Practices dictated that many of the more controversial themes had to be geared towards a general audience (Oh, the CHILDREN!!!). In my view, much of what was seen in many of these network films became antiseptics of very hard hitting, gut wrenching stories.In walks cable stations such as HBO and Showtime that start producing its own movies for pay subscribers - showing warts and all - and let me tell you, they have been fantastic. I can't honestly say I've seen them all, but my very favorite, HBO's "Barbarians at the Gate" is the first one I saw and I knew the days of antiseptic network made for TV movies were over.Frank Pierson directed what is actually an artistic no win situation -- and as far as I am concerned, he did a good job in telling the story without drawing a conclusion on itself. The story is a true story about a museum in Cincinnati that was to display the artist Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit and contained within that exhibit was pictures of sadomasochism and private parts. Mind you, that was not the work of the entire exhibit, but those particular pictures within that work was what caused the problem.Dennis Barrie, played by the wonderful actor James Woods, is the museum curator that had to make a decision - well several decisions: To show or not to show the exhibit, to show all of the exhibit or parts of it, to show some of the exhibit to the general museum audience and block off the other parts to an audience over 21...and so on and so forth. What is at stake here - The First Amendment of Free speech? A man wanting to protect an artists' vision and rights over his family's welfare? A man wanting to be a martyr? A man wanting to corrupt Cincinnati? A man wanting PR? A man who secretly had a private fetish? All of these questions come up in this film - and what are the answers? Was Barrie right or wrong in what he did? Was the town right? His family right? The museum Board of Directors right? The government right? YOU decide. Art is subjective and what I would see as art which is appealing and beautiful, the next person may definitely not. Take for example Andy Warhol and the Campbell Soup can, Yoko Ono and her famous "YES" painting, Georgia O'Keefe and her 'plants', Jean-Michel Basquiat and his Samo and Robert Mapplethorpe and his "dirty pictures". For me, I can look at quite a few works from these folks (and more) and say, "hmmm, that's a beautiful reflection of real life" while someone standing right next to me looks at the same thing, and is shocked and infuriated.But then, such as in the case of artist Robert Mapplethorpe, I had only seen a limited view of his work. A section. That particular side of his work didn't bother me any, which is why I could not understand what the fuss was about. Then came this presentation of "Dirty Pictures" that let's you know all sides of what the 'fuss' is about.....and yes, as someone who will die to protect the first amendment and who loves the expression of art and freedom for artists; I was very, very, very uncomfortable by a few pictures contained within this exhibit. But that's the beauty of this film. Film is art TOO, and this film goes "there" by presenting you the case, the struggle for the curator and his family, the wrenching of the city and the government who funded the museum and the question of "what is right to do?" When this picture was presented in America, one of the biggest pieces of publicity surrounding it was "Are they going to show the pictures in question?" Ah, there's the rub. Do you want to see the questionable Mapplethorpe pictures to be able to draw your own conclusions? Did you draw a conclusion already? Does this made for cable film need to show you the "dirty pictures" to tell about you about the dirty pictures? And if they do show the pictures, aren't they doing the same that as Dennis Barrie?Decisions, decisions, decisions. Very right and undoubtedly very wrong. It's your view. That's what makes this movie bold and sassy. A brash effort, a darn good telling of a "real life" story and a still controversial subject matter -- no matter what end of the spectrum you stand.

yuri-17 As an European I can't help the temptation to comment on this movie. To be totally clear ... as a "movie", Dirty pictures isn't that good, as a documentary, it isn't either. What however is intriguing, is the subject matter ... a country that is so profound of it's first amendment, but on the other hand is so conservative makes me ask a lot of questions. Does the dogma "one's freedom ends where another individual's one start" still apply ? What is art , what is not ? And so on ... I can't answer to most of them, but it sure is interesting to think about.

righter-2 This is a very engaging movie that centers around an individual's right to personal taste. It does a fine job in getting the viewer thinking. It begs definitions of community standards, personal freedoms, pornography, obscenity and first ammendment protection.I share my grandfather's take on this subject by one of his favorite sayings: '"To each, his own," said the man who kissed the cow.' There are exhibits and shows I wouldn't go to see on a bet, but I recognize there are many that would. Fortunately, we have to right to boycott or walk out if we don't like what we see.As far as the movie itself, it's a lot like Mapplethorpe's work. He dealt with lighting, composition and mood. Granted, some of his subjects were disturbing but the total impression was masterful. This film asks and allows us to overlook the surface matter (the actual story, direction and script) and deal with the deeper aspects of the piece. I suggest you give it a view.As always, James Woods was wonderful.